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Welcome to this week's edition of the WWE/wrestling rumors we hope are true and those we hope aren't. This week's edition features potentially big returns to WWE, a toxic backstage power struggle, Vince McMahon reportedly deciding to release a popular star, and more.
We're officially a week away from SummerSlam 2021 and it could be the biggest pay-per-view of the WWE calendar year. Things are certainly getting heated and a lot is happening on and off-screen in WWE. Let's begin:
#3. Hope is true: Hope for Becky Lynch's return to WWE?
Becky Lynch has been gone from WWE for longer than expected. While a WrestleMania 37 return was understandably out of the cards, there was still hope that she would come back to face Bayley, who had no match despite her importance to WWE in 2020.
It's been over four months since then and there still seems to be no sign of Becky Lynch's return to WWE. Becky Lynch was rumored to return to face Charlotte Flair for the RAW Women's Championship at SummerSlam, which would be great timing.
But things changed and Nikki A.S.H. cashed in the Money in the Bank briefcase to become the RAW Women's Champion. Soon after, a Triple Threat RAW Women's title match was announced for SummerSlam between Nikki A.S.H., Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley.
This essentially confirmed that Becky Lynch won't be returning to compete at SummerSlam. But with 15 months having passed since her hiatus began, a return at or after SummerSlam makes the most sense.
If WWE wants a high-impact moment, then a return at SummerSlam would be perfect. This could be in the works as PWInsider reported that Becky Lynch is slated to be in attendance at SummerSlam:
PWInsider.com can confirm that currently, Lynch is slated to be in attendance at the 8/21 Summerslam PPV.
We hope this is true because it dramatically increases the chances of her SummerSlam return. If she happens to troll people on social media about her return, then the chances of it happening seem slim.
However, if it isn't SummerSlam 2021, then the following week could see her return to WWE. Per Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, Becky Lynch may not even return to RAW, indicating that she could be a part of SmackDown:
"That match (RAW Women's Title triple threat) being made for SummerSlam was a bit of a surprise. A lot of people were expecting Becky to be back, but word is she might be heading to a different brand. So, who knows, but they need her back bad," said Sean Ross Sapp.
Either way, The Man's return to WWE is inevitable.
#3. Hope isn't true: Backstage power struggle in WWE
Ever since WWE began "punishing" NXT and "sending a message", a lot of things have changed backstage. While WWE made a big effort to establish NXT as its third brand to compete with AEW, it's clear who won the "war".
NXT's inability to defeat AEW shouldn't lead to WWE changing the outlook of the brand, but that's where things appear to be heading. Triple H, who was once considered one of the most powerful men in WWE (and the next in line to succeed Vince McMahon), seems to have taken a fall in the process as well.
Dave Meltzer reported on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Triple H has lost power backstage in WWE and there has been sabotage within the company by a few people. He went on to explain why:
''It’s largely based on what was said to be a new company directive for the product and a behind-the-scenes power struggle involving those who fear for their positions if and when Levesque takes over and thus want to undermine him, and those who support Levesque,'' said Meltzer.
We hope this isn't true because it signals a toxic power struggle that seems to be occurring behind the scenes in WWE. Triple H might be WWE's best long-term option.
#2. Hope is true: The mastermind behind John Cena and Roman Reigns' promo on WWE SmackDown
The Roman Reigns-John Cena feud is the biggest that WWE has had this year in terms of marquee matches. It's the former face of WWE vs. the current face of WWE and the two will headline SummerSlam 2021.
It should be a good match, but there has been mild criticism over how little build there has been. WWE decided to change that on SmackDown with a back-and-forth segment between Roman Reigns and John Cena.
According to a report by Fightful, backstage producer Jamie Noble was the man responsible for the segment, while Paul Heyman also had his input:
"Jamie Noble produced the opening segment that featured John Cena and Roman Reigns or at least was listed as such. It’s worth noting that Paul Heyman has also had heavy influence over Reigns’ stories, and Reigns and Cena have a significant more amount of freedom over their segments than most."
We hope this is true because it's good to see Jamie Noble in charge of such big segments in WWE. It might also mean that higher-ups fully trust him being in charge of the biggest names in WWE and the wrestling industry in general.
#2. Hope isn't true: Vince McMahon is personally behind former Champion's WWE release?
Amidst all the WWE releases, the higher-ups made a decision. Vince McMahon and other WWE executives personally visited the Performance Center in Orlando to scout developmental and NXT talent with main roster potential.
This was an important move as it signified a big shift in approach. Not only did Vince McMahon and other WWE higher-ups scout for potential main roster talent, but it seemed as though it served as a way to filter out others.
This is likely what led to the dozen shocking releases that struck NXT recently. Triple H was reportedly not behind these decisions, so it's likely that he was shocked to see former NXT North American champion Bronson Reed getting released.
As per a report from Dave Meltzer on WON, Vince McMahon saw Bronson Reed and decided against him, leading to his cut.
''Those internally said that when Reed got his tryout matches in recent weeks, that McMahon decided against him, and felt due that if he’s not going to be on the main roster, what is the point of keeping him,'' said Meltzer.
The report stated that the WWE Chairman also had Bobby Fish, Mercedes Martinez, and Tyler Rust as a part of this list. It's unfortunate and we hope it isn't true, but it's very likely to be a correct report.
#1. Hope is true: Reports on the reason for Bray Wyatt's WWE absence were false
Bray Wyatt's release from WWE still comes as a shock half a month after it happened. Before Bray Wyatt was released by WWE, his last appearance was on the RAW after WrestleMania 37.
It was rumored that the reason for Bray Wyatt's absence between April and July was mental health issues, which would have been understandable. However, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful reported that the reason for Bray Wyatt's absence from WWE was due to family commitments.
Sportskeeda's Matt Black wrote:
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful reports that Bray Wyatt had family engagements keeping him away from WWE in both May and June and that the reports of mental health issues were falsely reported. SRS also confirms that Bray Wyatt is 100% cleared and could wrestle tonight if he were able to.
We hope this is true because dealing with mental health issues would have naturally been harder. If Bray Wyatt is in a good place and is ready to wrestle again, the 90-day non-compete clause from WWE can't come soon enough.
#1. Hope isn't true: Backstage toxicity in WWE towards NXT stars?
NXT Champion Karrion Kross dominated the black and gold brand and walked into the WWE main roster undefeated with incredible momentum on his side. However, one rope-assisted pin from Jeff Hardy saw him lose, leading the WWE Universe into a frenzy.
Karrion Kross, in this case, might simply be a pawn in a bigger game. After NXT lost the head-to-head war with AEW, Vince McMahon and WWE higher-ups have decided to take a step back and change things.
The days of NXT being a third brand are now over. It's a developmental territory once again and the kind of stars that will be churned out aren't going to be like the ones we've seen in the last 5 years.
According to Dave Meltzer of WON, there is reportedly backstage toxicity in WWE towards NXT, which is what led to Karrion Kross losing on RAW twice. Dakota Kai, who is challenging Raquel Gonzalez for the NXT title, recently lost to Aaliyah on Main Event:
"This toxicity led to Karrion Kross, the NXT champion, losing twice on Raw while NXT was building him as unstoppable and having run through the roster for a showdown with Samoa Joe, and then Dakota Kai, who is challenging for the women’s championship at the next Takeover, losing a match taped for Main Event this week to Aliyah," stated Meltzer.
We hope this isn't true because it's a huge blow to the morale of NXT. The idea seems to be to drill in a new concept of adapting to the main roster, which means that larger-sized superstars will be back dominating again.
